Does anyone else notice this about Bargnani ? When he gets the ball -- top of the key/elbow area, he either:

1) spots up in your face (low percentage shot)
2) straight line drive for a dunk or reverse lay up
3) 2 pump fakes, then spots up

I think moving forward, he should develop some other moves either from the triple threat position or putting it on the floor. I just don't see enough creativity, although he does catch opponents by surprise. My concern is, if he does not develop his moves, he can be predictable & opponents can easily take away those 3 moves once they have proper scouting. I found myself guessing his next move watching him this season & half the time, I guessed it correctly.

Having said that, in my opinion, Bargnani is a good talent offensively. Not sure if he is franchise type unless he further develops his offensive arsenal. By that I mean, to the point where he can ultimately get off a shot off a series of moves (when shot clock is running out). I noticed during these situations, he tends to go with the shot in your face which for the most part, opponents challenged very well. (ie: Denver game - he did make them though)

“I don’t create controversies. They’re there long before I open my mouth. I just bring them to your attention.”

...I think moving forward, he should develop some other moves either from the triple threat position or putting it on the floor. I just don't see enough creativity, although he does catch opponents by surprise. My concern is, if he does not develop his moves, he can be predictable & opponents can easily take away those 3 moves once they have proper scouting....

Most good players add something to their game every year for most of their career. With Bargs, it will be easy. He just has to go for three pump fakes now, and his defender will jump into the air to get caught in a manufactured foul. :-)

He could also surprise people by playing better defence. That will make them cough up the ball and will leave them standing still in shock with their mouths open while he fast breaks to the other end of the floor.

He just has to go for three pump fakes now, and his defender will jump into the air to get caught in a manufactured foul. :-)

hahahaha. going to take a lot of work in the off season to remember not to shoot after the second fake. seriously all he has to do is plant a pivot foot and fake and move until the other guy jumps like kobe, but jose has to get him the ball with 20 seconds left and everyone else has to wait 18 seconds for the shot to go up.

...but jose has to get him the ball with 20 seconds left and everyone else has to wait 18 seconds for the shot to go up.

So the Raps eat up the clock, rest their other players and let their opponents tire themselves out by biting on Barg's fakes until he takes that high percentage shot to pull ahead by another two. Sounds like a great strategy.

“We saw a different Andrea at the beginning of this season,” said Jose Calderon. “The Andrea we saw at the beginning is the Andrea who is going to be here next year and the Andrea we need to keep growing. He grew up in almost every aspect of the game. He made things easier for us to play out there. He gave us a lot of space.”

“We started work on the defense since day one and if you work in the gym all day and that’s all you are working on, you are going to get better,” said Bargnani. “If you dedicate yourself to it and work on it every day, you are going to get better.”

“He allowed me to coach him as hard as any star player would allow myself and my coaching staff to coach them,” said Casey. “I know Coach Messina (in Italy) coached him hard as a young kid and he responds to accountability and being on him and I was on him as hard as anybody else. In a respectful way, but when he made a mistake, he knew about it.

“We saw a different Andrea at the beginning of this season,” said Jose Calderon. “The Andrea we saw at the beginning is the Andrea who is going to be here next year and the Andrea we need to keep growing. He grew up in almost every aspect of the game. He made things easier for us to play out there. He gave us a lot of space.”

“We started work on the defense since day one and if you work in the gym all day and that’s all you are working on, you are going to get better,” said Bargnani. “If you dedicate yourself to it and work on it every day, you are going to get better.”

The idea of Bargnani going to the Lakers because of Messina might not be a legitimate reason soon:

According to rumors coming from Turkey, Fenerbahce Istanbul made a two-year offer to Ettore Messina. The Italian is now in the States as assistant of Mike Brown with the Lakers. Messina moved to the NBA after his disappointing experience in Spain with Real Madrid.